Vertical push · Bodyweight

Pike Push-Up

A push-up done with your hips raised into an inverted V, pressing your head toward the floor. It trains the shoulders vertically with bodyweight and builds toward handstand push-ups. Good for home training and calisthenics.

Primary
Front Delts
Secondary
Triceps
Starting rep range
8–12 reps
Target effort
2 reps in reserve
Progression
Add reps, then difficulty

Muscles worked

The front delts and triceps press the body up, with the upper chest assisting. Raising the feet on a box makes it more vertical and shifts more work to the shoulders.

How to set up

  1. Start in a push-up position, then walk your feet toward your hands and lift your hips.
  2. Keep your hands about shoulder width apart.
  3. Hold your head between your arms, looking back toward your feet.
  4. Keep your legs fairly straight.

How to do each rep

  1. Bend your elbows and lower the top of your head toward the floor in front of your hands.
  2. Keep elbows at about 45 degrees from the body.
  3. Press back up until the arms are straight.
  4. Keep the hips high throughout.

Common pike push-up mistakes

Hips dropping

Keep hips high so the body stays in an inverted V.

Elbows flaring out

Keep the elbows angled back at about 45 degrees.

Lowering straight down

Lower your head forward of your hands so you form a triangle with your hands.

Sets, reps, and progression

Surpass starts the pike push-up at 8–12 reps with about 2 reps in reserve. As a compound lift it usually belongs early in the session, when you are fresh.

Build to 10-15 reps, then elevate your feet on a box. Next, progress toward wall handstand push-ups.

Know what to lift next time

Surpass shows what you lifted last time beside a target for this set, and adjusts it from your reps and RIR. Free on iPhone, no account needed.

Track it free in Surpass

Pike Push-Up alternatives

These train the same main muscles. Swap when the equipment is busy, something hurts, or progress has stalled for several weeks.

Dumbbell Shoulder PressFront Delts · DumbbellsHammer Strength Shoulder PressFront Delts · Plate-loaded machineLandmine PressFront Delts · BarbellMachine Shoulder PressFront Delts · MachineOverhead PressFront Delts · Barbell

Calculators

1RM CalculatorNext Set CalculatorPlate Calculator

Questions

Do pike push-ups build shoulders?

Yes. They train the front delts and triceps with a vertical press. Raising the feet makes them harder.

Pike push-ups vs handstand push-ups?

Pike push-ups are easier and a common stepping stone. Handstand push-ups load your full bodyweight vertically.